Under the Stars
by Hilda-and-N
Summary: As the heat season settles over the dog demons of Sengoku Jidai, Sesshoumaru attempts to claim Kagome as his mate. To protect her, Koga, Miroku, and Inuyasha all lay claim to her at the same time. Ancient law binds them to their oath until Kagome has bore one child from each of them, not to mention the fact that a heat-crazed Sesshoumaru is focused on claiming her as well.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Under the Stars

Author: Hilda-and-N

Summary: As the heat season settles over the dog demons of Sengoku Jidai, Sesshoumaru attempts to claim Kagome as his mate. To protect her, Kouga, Miroku, and Inuyasha all lay claim to her at the same time. Ancient law binds them to their oath until Kagome has bore one child from each of them, not to mention the fact that a heat-crazed Sesshoumaru is focused on claiming her as well. Will she accept the situation and have sex with her newly bonded mates, or will she focus on finding a way around it?

Rating: M for sexual situations, language, and violence.

-x-x-x-

She was a little tired but very, very angry.

Inuyasha huffed a few curses towards Kagome and stomped off to who knows where. She glared at him as he left, and sighed as she turned towards her embarassed companions. Sango's face was red from seeing Inuyasha fight with Kagome yet again, and Miroku seemed to find a leaf on a nearby tree particularly interesting.

"Well? Let's go. He'll catch up when he's done being so. . . so. . ." Kagome said after a moment, shoving past the monk and the demon slayer. The group was in a deep green forest where they had already encountered three demons. Kirara was in her demon form, waiting for instructions with Shippo curled up on her back. The little fox demon was strapped to Kirara's back so that he wouldn't fall off. Sango pulled Hirakotsu more snugly towards her shoulder.

"Infuriating?" Sango suggested. She answered Kagome's suggestion. "We can't, really, Kagome. You need Inuyasha to protect you and Miroku's already used his wind tunnel twice in the past day. Kirara can only carry two people," Sango murmured, unwilling to anger the already pissed-off miko but even more unwilling to be caught in the demon-infested woods without Tetsusaiga when night fell.

"Fine. We'll wait for him for a little while. But first, let's get out of these woods. Didn't you say that you saw a clearing up ahead when you were flying on Kirara earlier?" Kagome huffed. Sango nodded and Miroku dropped the leaf he was examining. The beads on his hand that closed the wind tunnel jingled with melancholy notes at the curse that they concealed.

"Let's get going then," Miroku said.

The trio headed north with Kirara scouting ahead. The fire kitsune dissappeared for a while, and Sango muttered that she had probably went too far ahead. After about half an hour, Inuyasha appeared in front of them, still silently mad with his arms crossed.

Kagome said nothing to him as she pushed past him and emerged into the clearing that Kirara had spotted earlier. Kirara was standing in front of her, fascinated by the scene before her. Even though she was angry, Kagome was intrigued.

Inuyasha's half-brother, Sesshoumaru, was prowling around another female dog demon, his teeth bared and claws tensed for a fight. The female was bleeding badly from a wound on her shoulder, but Sesshoumaru was unscathed. The girl looked to be fairly young but by demon standards she could've been any age. Her hair was black and probably was normally flowy and silky, but at the moment it was matted with blood and sweat. Her irises were a furious red, and her blood red floral-patterned haori had a long rip where the wound on her shoulder was. She looked defeated, but Sesshoumaru's offensive stance wasn't changing.

"What are they doing?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, in her curiosity forgetting that she was mad at him. Inuyasha protectively moved in front of her, but it was too late. With Kagome's words, Sesshoumaru glanced at her and knew she was there. Inuyasha cursed and assumed a defensive pose over her. "What-"

Inuyasha interrupted her. "It's mating season for dog demons. It's what we call courting. He's trying to determine if this female is strong enough to bear his pups, but it looks like she isn't. The season occurs every two years, and by now most of the demons have a mate." Inuyasha muttered.

Miroku added, "It hits even half-demons and makes them heat-crazed. I've seen this in many places, and though it doesn't affect half-demons as much, it still drives them mad." Inuyasha turned beet-red and smacked the monk on the head.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he raged, glaring at Sango as she giggled.

"Oh, so that's why Inuyasha's so moody. He's in heat." Kagome said. The mention of Inuyasha and his... _stirrings _made her turn a little pink. "Wait... does that mean that Kouga's..."

"Yes," Inuyasha told her.

Suddenly Sesshoumaru lashed out at the female, sending her sprawling away from the meadow. She collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

"Oh, no," Sango whispered. Inuyasha snorted.

"She's not dead. She's waiting for him to leave so that she can escape with her life," Kouga said from behind the group. The dog demon leaned against a tree, smugly watching the group. He wore the same furs as usual, and his ears twitched in the cool spring air. _Speak of the devil, _Kagome thought, wondering if he had heard her mention him earlier."Hey, Kagome. Hello, mutt." Kouga greeted, waving at the others. "I told you I'd catch up to you after I caught that fire demon that destroyed one of the wolf-demon tribe's villages." Inuyasha frowned, but before he could retort somethung, Kagome interrupted him.

"Oh, hey, Kouga. Sorry about leaving the village, but Naraku waits for no one to catch him." Kouga nodded, his eyes burning with a rage towards Naraku. "Does Sesshoumaru know that she's playing dead?" Kagome asked. She considered it nearly impossible for the demon brother of Inuyasha to miss an obvious fact such as this. She was shocked when the demon himself snorted beside her. Kirara hissed and backed away towards Sango. Kagome jumped and Inuyasha growled.

"Go away, you mongrel," Inuyasha said, pushing Kagome behind him. Sesshoumaru laughed once, a humorless _ha _that held none of the warmth that real laughter had.

"Don't pretend that the season doesn't affect you too, half-demon," the demon sneered at his half-brother. "Merely being in the presence of one female should make you snap, not to mention two. Especially this one." _Wait... what does he mean? _Kagome thought.

"It's the heat speaking, not him. Listen to nothing he says because once he mates with a female, he'll toss her somewhere so that she can bear his pups and he can ditch her. He'll keep doing this until the heat is gone," Miroku said behind Kagome. Kagome could hear him fiddling with his beads, prepared to help the miko if trouble should occur. "I studied demon behaviors as a child. There's one particular binding ritual-"

"Shut it, monk," Sesshoumaru growled. "Miko. Come here." Kagome only stood there, making Sesshoumaru frown. "If that's what you wish." Sesshoumaru darted forward and made a grab for Kagome's skirt. She squealed and smacked his hand. He was unaffected by her smack and actually touched her underwear before Inuyasha and Kouga both lunged for him, throwing him backwards. He steadied himself and straightened the fur on his shoulder. "No choice for you, then. Under the stars of this maddening season-"

"Under the stars of this maddening season do I claim this female as my mate!" Three voices all shouted quickly to outmatch Sesshoumaru's quick words.

Kouga, Miroku, and Inuyasha stared at each other.

-x-x-x-

A/N: Did I set the scene for a hot, jealous fanfic? I hope so. _Four _males all vying for Kagome's attention, not to mention nature's little addition of the dog demon heat season... A monk, a wolf demon, a half-demon, and a dog demon, all wanting the same miko... *Wink* You will not be disappointed! Don't worry, I won't make Kagome a whore.

Oh, and I usually don't write Miroku/Kagome (I'm a pure Miroku/Sango fan!) , but this is a special circumstance.

Review or message your suggestions, please! Reviews are always welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

"Eek!" Kagome squealed as Sango glared at her and the four men looked at her as if they had surprised themselves by claiming her.

"_What in the hell were you thinking?!" _Sango screeched, angrily punching a tree. The question obviously flew at Miroku but Kouga answered instead.

"Well, would you rather it that Sesshoumaru had her? We all acted on impulse to protect Kagome." Kouga shrugged and draped his arm over Kagome. With glares from all the males present, he grudgingly removed his arm. "I'm sure she'll have to choose one of us so that she doesn't anger the ancestors of the Inutachi and the Wolf-Demon Tribe. Of course, the monk isn't bonded-"

"Actually, all three of us are inescapably tied to her. None of us can leave our vows until she is pregnant. By each of her mates. " Miroku interrupted. Sango's head snapped up from where it was resting on a tree and shot a fiery glance at the miko and the monk. Everyone had a grim but confused mask plaguing their features; even Sesshoumaru looked impatient.

"This is insane..." Inuyasha growled, pacing back and forth. Sesshoumaru sniffed the air, as did Kouga. They glared at each other, and Sesshoumaru took off in the direction that Kouga had lifted his nose.

"What was that?" Kagome muttered, daring not to touch anyone for the awkwardness of the situation.

"Scenting female in a strong heat." Inuyasha answered.

"But wouldn't it attract you and Kouga too?"

"We're bonded, remember? It won't affect us anymore until you're...with child." Kouga told her.

"Could you please explain this whole heat thing to me?" Kagome grumbled. She was getting increasingly irritated with standing around and would have preferred to make camp, but didn't suggest it because it wasn't even dark yet. As if she was reading her mind, Sango sighed.

"Let's make camp. Kouga, scent the boundaries so that we don't have any unwelcome male visitors trying to kidnap Sango and Kagome." Miroku said, trying to catch the demon-slayer's eye. Sango ignored his attempts, but flinched when he said her name. Kouga nodded and took off.

"Why not me?" Inuyasha complained. Kagome tiredly sat down on a fallen log near her and sorted through her pack.

"A full demon's scent will be stronger and more intimidating. Besides, you don't want to pee on every other tree, do you?" Inuyasha mumbled a 'no' and sat down beside Kagome. Miroku nodded at the miko and hurried off to help Sango prepare camp- and probably to apologize to her. Shippo was getting the news from Sango, and helped the monk and the demon-slayer start a fire. Kirara was curled up in her kitsune form, a white-ish ball of fur that lay near Sango.

At that moment Kagome wanted to strangle and hug each of the males who had claimed her. They had saved her from Sesshoumaru's... activities, but had doomed her to three children, two of which would be part demon and one would have the wind tunnel curse_. I'm only seventeen,_ she thought.

"Hey, Inuyasha? Is there any way around the vows?" Kagome asked after a second. Kouga and Miroku would be back soon and she wanted to ask Inuyasha this question while the still mad Sango was starting a fire.

"Well, I don't think so. But we could contact my ancestors and ask them," Inuyasha answered after a quick scratch of his white hair.

"Okay. It's just that I'm seventeen, and... well, I don't want to anger Sango like that," she shyly admitted.

"I guess I get it, even though you _are _technically of breeding age. What Kouga, Miroku and I did wasn't an act of heat-lust, though." Inuyasha said slowly, as if he was thinking about each word.

"Miroku's a human," Kagome said, trying to ignore the fact that Inuyasha thought she was 'breeding age'.

"Then he's in heat all the time," Inuyasha mumbled. Kagome giggled and, for one second, forgot all about her love life and its troubles.

But only for a second.

"Why me? Couldn't Sesshoumaru have just tried to claim Sango, and then only Miroku would have claimed her?" the miko asked, shivering a bit with the falling sun. The red orb hung suspended, low in the sky, studded on the bottom by the treetops of the endless forest. Locusts hummed and the air smelled like pine and other bits of nature- dirt and air and water. The log they sat on was an old one, thinly veiled in moss on the bottom. Miroku was crouching near Sango about five or six yards away in the meadow, his lips clearly saying something. The demon-slayer showed no emotion on her face, but probably felt everything Kagome was feeling- confusion, anger, with the addition of jealousy, maybe.

Inuyasha took off the shirt of his fire rat haori, baring his torso's muscled planes to the world. Kagome couldn't keep herself from one little glance at his muscles- a glance that didn't go unnoticed. Inuyasha's face turned a little pink at Kagome's look, but he still wrapped the haori around her shoulders and awkwardly patted her back.

"Because of who you are, Kagome." he said to her, his smoldering yellow gaze locking onto her bashful brown eyes. Suddenly Kagome's whole body was trembling with the feeling of abrupt nervousness built up from a completely awkward, completely strange day.

"Because of... who I am?" she whispered softly.

"Kagome, listen... there's something really, really important that I have to ask-"

Kouga cleared his throat loudly behind them and Kagome snapped her head around, startled. Inuyasha looked at his rival.

"I have as much claim to her as you do," Kouga reminded him. Kagome blushed as Inuyasha remained silent, a further testament to the emotional importance of what he had been about to say. "So, Kagome," he said, plopping down on the log and settling in between the miko and the half-demon, "Whose pups will you bear first?" Kouga wrapped an arm around Kagome, thinking that, perhaps, he would get the remark and the touch in without rebuffal.

"You pervert," Inuyasha grumped, whacking Kouga on the head. The wolf demon glared at him and curled up his fist.

"You know, she could make us have a fight over her." Kouga said. "To the death, though."

"I'd enjoy slicing your pompous head off of those grubby shoulders," Inuyasha shouted.

"Mongrel!"

"Mutt!"

"Listen here, worthle-"

"Stop it!" Kagome yelled. "Sit boy!" Inuyasha's face paled as he slammed into the dirt, his (attractive) buttocks still on the log but his face in the ground.

"Whaddya do that for?!" he groaned at her, rubbing the dirt off of his face. Kouga began laughing uncontrollably, and Kagome was still attempting to console the violence between the two demons.

"Stop acting like children. Now, if Lady Kagome so wishes, we could begin-" Miroku suggested before being interrupted. He stood in front of the log, looking down at the squabbling demons.

"No!" both of the other males shouted at once.

"Let's just... someone, please explain to me the entirety of the heat season." Kagome told them, looking at them with imploring eyes. Miroku sighed and sat down on the ground, cross-legged and assuming the pose of a meditating monk. His eyes, however, were open and alert.

"Every two years the mating season begins. A craze goes upon the dog demons, and there is suddenly a rush to mate and produce offspring. Even half-demons are affected,"-the monk glanced at Inuyasha, whose face was still a bit dirty from his face plant-"and both the Inutachi and the Wolf-Demon Tribe are affected, along with any other dog demon variants between those two." The monk watched Kagome carefully for a second before closing his eyes. "The males are so strongly driven to mate that any female, regardless if they're human or demon, that they happen upon will immediately be claimed and mated. That is why Sesshoumaru said such things and attempted... gestures. You're lucky that Inuyasha is only a half-demon or else Inuyasha would have _ravaged _you as soon as the season started." Inuyasha and Kouga looked at the monk with surprise at his boldness of words.

"Why not Sango?" Kagome asked for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

"She's a demon-_slayer._ She would have killed him and any male that tried," he answered simply, hinting at a past rejection that still stung. I felt sympathy for him but, still, he _did_ feel her bottom without permission on multiple occasions. "When the male is mating he loses all prehibitions and any civilized limitations that would be normally shown. He also makes sure that the female... gets excited because that guarantees offspring. And remember, Kagome," Miroku said, opening his eyes again and looking at her. Brown met brown and Kagome shivered despite Inuyasha's haori covering her.

"Sesshoumaru would have done all of those things and more if we would not have claimed you. Some of us," Miroku didn't look at the other two but it was obvious who he meant, "will show those instincts anyway."

What scared and strangely excited Kagome the most was that no male denied it.

"Kagome? What's mating?" Shippo asked Kagome after Sango finished explaining the situation to him. Kagome still couldn't believe that Miroku, Kouga, _and _Inuyasha had claimed her to prevent Sesshoumaru from doing certain deeds with her. The three men were a noticable distance apart, but still near Kagome.

Sango had retired early and lay by the fire due to a 'migraine', but Kagome guessed that she just needed some time to think things through. Sango wasn't one to stay angry for things that weren't actually as dire as they seemed, and Kagome trusted her enough to know that she wouldn't awake with Hirakotsu embedded in her skull. _Still, _she thought, _it's best to keep a safe distance from her for a while._

"Erm, Shippo... it's uh," Kagome stuttered. Shippo was innocently looking up at her with his big brown eyes, and his furry little ears twitched in the cool evening air. The sun was down and the locusts had stopped buzzing, but everyone was still on high alert to avoid any run-ins with sex-crazed demons.

"It's when a male puts his-" Miroku began, but Kagome covered her ears. She did not want to hear a verbal recap of what activities she would soon be doing if she didn't find a way around the claiming oath.

After a moment, Kagome removed her hands from her ears and looked at the startled Shippo. He looked a little nauseated and a little confused, just like Kagome had felt when she had received the talk from her _grandfather._ Her grandfather, for crying out loud!

Kouga and Inuyasha were a little pink in the face, too, after Miroku's most likely detailed description of the reproductive rituals. Glad again that she had covered her ears in time, Kagome looked at the wolf demon. _For one's mate, he sure has been showing me the cold shoulder,_ she thought a bit sadly.

"Kouga," she chimed, and his eyes snapped up to meet hers. He looked vulnerable for a split second, and that endeared Kagome enough to save the awkward conversations for later. "Is there any way around the vows? I mean, I appreciate everyone's efforts, but I am _not _ready for children."

Kouga sighed and looked away. "My brother was a major womanizer, not unlike our monk friend here." Miroku gave him a sad smile. "He decided that the word of our ancestors meant nothing. So he mated with a female that was not the one he claimed." Kouga looked back at Kagome, and met her with steady eyes. "We found him in the morning, unbreathing. His claimed mate was dead, too. So if one of us leaves you, then everyone involved dies."

"Oh, Kouga, I'm sorry..." Kagome said. She hadn't known that he even had a brother, let alone that he had died.

"It's fine. I'm just guessing, though. It's not like I've ever... claimed any female before." He sounded embarassed to admit it.

"You mean you've never-" Kagome began to say, but stopped short at the bashful looks in both Kouga's and Inuyasha's eyes. Of course, they'd never been with anyone. Inuyasha had only ever been with Kikyo, a holy priestess whose powers would have been tarnished if she would have given away her innocence. Kouga couldn't have been too old, either, and probably never participated in the breeding season while searching to avenge his Wolf-Demon Tribe.

Miroku, however, was a different story. He held no shyness at the mention of sexual activities and Kagome had even witnessed him trying to seduce multiple women, including Sango and herself. Of course, that had been so long ago, before anyone could have guessed that Kagome would soon be sharing a bed with the monk himself, if events stayed on their current course. Kagome herself was a virgin and had planned to stay that way, at least for a while. _Too late for that, _she thought.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Shippo murmured. The little demon must have heard more sexual references in the past twenty minutes than he had during his entire life.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm not sure what to do, _Kagome wrote in her journal. The little book was royal purple and had a white ribbon attached to the spine. She wrote in it with a Maneki Neko pen, and as she wrote the little cat on top of the pen waved at her.

_If I want all of us to live, then I must... have children with all of them. Three children! What will Mom say? Well, she'd probably be able to say nothing, since I wouldn't be able to come back here for at least three years anyways... if I have a part-demon child or one has a wind-tunnel, then they could never return with me to the the present, and Mom would never see her grandchildren. I'm glad that Sesshoumaru didn't claim me, definitely, but still... one has to wonder about the 'what ifs' of this world. God knows what would be happening to me at this very second if he had... What if Inuyasha had been full demon, or Kouga had been around me this whole time? Then I wouldn't have had a choice, really. In a way, having no choice makes things easier. But the heart always goes wanting for what it can't have._

She sighed and stared at the paper. Her window was open, half hoping that Inuyasha would show up and she could discuss things with him, and the other half of her wanted him to stay away. She put her head on her desk, knowing that she would have to return to Sengoku Jidai soon.

"Better early than late," Kagome decided, picking up her bag with sudden determination. Her departure from the past hadn't been as dramatic as she had expected. No jealous arguments, no one begging for her to stay. Just '_Bye, Kagome, see you soon._' She hadn't expected a heartwrenching farewell, but it still stung a bit that they let her go so easily.

She hopped down her stairs lightly, since it was around midnight and she didn't want to wake her parents. But, of course, Buyo padded up to her on chubby paws and pleaded in the loudest neko voice she could manage. Kagome tried to shush her and patted her head, but it was too late. Suta came down the stairs quickly, as if he had expected Kagome to try and sneak out.

"Kagome, what are you doing?" Suta muttered to the girl, looking up at her with serious eyes.

Kagome frowned. She hadn't noticed how big the bags were under his eyes when she had gotten home, nor had she seen how worried he looked. All she had been thinking about at the time was how her situation was bad...

"What's wrong, bro-bro?" she whispered, using the nickname she had used for him when he was a baby. He huffed and crossed his arms but shook his head, as if saying that she should have noticed earlier.

"Just... stuff." he told her, shrugging. Kagome grabbed his hand and led him to the couch in the living room. All of the adults slept like rocks, and, besides, they would be quiet in their discussion.

They sat down together on the white couch, and Kagome looked at him expectantly.

Suta sighed. "It's just... going into sixth grade has been harder than I imagined. All of the girls are so confusing, and the math is too hard, and the uniforms in middle school are too tight-" His voiced cracked with the same strains Kagome had felt all those years ago. She hugged him gently, stroking his hair.

"It's okay, Suta. But I think that's not the real reason you're upset," she murmured.

"You're..." Suta let go of her. "...right. We worry about you, Kagome. _I _worry about you. It has to be dangerous there, and even though I know Inuyasha can protect you, it's just that something could go wrong."

"Don't worry, Suta. Believe me, I worry about myself sometimes, too. But no one's going to hurt me," she soothed. Kagome couldn't help but feel that the last sentence was a lie. "Now, I need to get back to the past. I promise I'll come back when I can and I'll take you to one of those cafes you like so much,"

"The ones with the caramel coffee called 'Demon Drinks'?" he asked, smiling. Kagome smiled, too. The cafe was named after a legend about how a demon had invented the coffee that the friendly little venue served. Of course, now Kagome knew that demons were real, but she still didn't think that a demon like the ones she knew could invent such a delicious coffee...

Kagome nodded to Suta and pressed her lips to his forehead. He hugged her for a moment and got up, heading towards his room.

"I'll see you soon, Kagome. I love you," He waited at the stairs for her to say goodbye.

"I'll come back when I can. Love you too," Kagome answered truthfully. She pulled her backpack closer to her shoulder and sighed as Suta climbed up the stairs to his room. In her own misery she had forgotten her little brother. Kagome opened the front door as silently as possible, hoping that all the noise hadn't woken up Mom, or- even worse- Grandpa. He would nag her to death, for sure. She loved him, but he was practically the gossip-y old shrew of the house.

_And his Shikon jewel charms don't bring good luck, either,_ she thought.

The night was cool and the leaves of the trees were almost silver with moonlight, while a quiet breeze whisked itself through the yard. The shrine wasn't too far away, and the walk there wasn't very eventful. When she jumped down the Bone-Eater's Well, Kagome found herself dreading confontation with Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku even more. The stars were whispering at her, telling her that maybe things weren't so bad, and that she could actually enjoy them...

Kagome smiled at her own odd thoughts and glided her way into the shrine. The wooden walls surrounding her were seemingly glowering over her, telling her that they were old, old, old. But the well was older.

It sat glowing in the center of the shrine, elegant and carnal, white as scars and black as hearts. It seemed to beckon, and its presence gave Kagome a vague feeling of ancient power, as if the well was exerting its own aura of magic and history. The stone was starkly bright against the wooden backdrop provided by the shrine, and earned respect for resisting the crumbly hands of weather.

A leap, a blink, and a fluttering of invisible wind later, Kagome was gliding and sliding through the arms of time. The air that delivered her to the past so often, and returned her to the present so effortlessly, felt like a thousand lonely nights trilling with the call of a wonderfully beautiful day. Kagome could feel its magic pulling her into an embrace, urging her to remain, to be lulled into the powerful presence of a priestess.

And then she was in front of the well, wondering why Inuyasha was stark naked in front of her.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Sorry about it taking so long. My internet is out and my laptop is wonky, so updating is kind of hard. Oh, and I definitely noticed the 60 follows and 31 favorites! Thank you so much. The reviews, follows, and favorites are my motivation and inspiration, so you guys have been wonderful and have helped me to write! I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, but I'd like to keep all of the jealous drama together in one epic chapter that will be posted as soon as possible, that way you guys aren't kept in suspense!**_

_**Again, thank you! **_

-x-x-x-

"Inu... yasha- SIT BOY!" Kagome's body was surely out of blood at that moment, for her neck was so red that it caused the rest of her to turn pale. Her squeaked reply to Inuyasha's nakedness resulted from him turning around. And, unwilling to let him expose himself- his well-endowed self- to her, she hastily told him to sit.

"What was that for, woman?!" he yelled, his face plummeting into the dirt. Kagome was still red as a beet but the red was calming down, what with his... _organs_ blocked from view by the ground.

"I'm sorry, but... why in the hell are you naked?!" Kagome answered and asked, turning her eyes from him. Inuyasha also had bit of a pink tinge to his face. He stood up, using his hands to shield himself while he scavenged for his haori.

"Did you forget that I bathe too? There's a stream right there," the half-demon said, gesturing towards a babbling stream roughly two yards away. His red haori was piled on the ground beside him, and he quickly snatched up the cloth, covering himself and attempting to quell the absolute burning of embarassment.

"Oh." This was all Kagome could manage to say, and in her complete mortification, caught herself glancing at Inuyasha's bare chest. "I'll let you... finish. Where's everyone else?"

"I was supposed to be waiting for you, but you were taking a while so I decided to bathe. And Sango, Miroku, and Shippo are a bit of a ways away. Along with-" he spat on the ground, "- mutt boy." Inuyasha began walking down to the stream, his haori covering just most of his sculpted buttocks. "You have to wait for me to take you there because there was a swarm of wasp demons a few hours ago,"

"Okay." Kagome was still looking away from him as he walked, and she was about to leave when he turned around.

"Oh, and Kagome?" Inuyasha said. "Uh, after I'm done, we need to talk. 'We' as in Miroku, Kouga, you, and I."

"Mmkay," Kagome said again.

_Oh, boy. Definitely not looking forward to this._


End file.
